The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-08-24
ONE MANS NOBLE WORK.
How Savannah Was Supplied Witt
Pro visions After the Surrender.

Among the delegates to the Interstate
Convention of Farmers was one TO whom
the people of Georgia, and particularly
those of Savannah owe great big debt of
| gratitude And the debt is cheerfully ac-
knowledged
The delegate in question was Col Julius
Aliens, now farmer living near States
vile, n. c., but formerly of New York city.
| Col. Aliens first sight of Georgia was in
| 1864, when, as Colonel of the Thirty first
| New York, he came with Sherman. He is
a native of one of the provinces of Germany.
| The son of wealthy parents in the old coun
| try, the desire to see the new world, induced
! him to leave home, when he landed at New
Orleans with just one copper cent in his
| pocket.
But he found friends and from them his
| life is the old story of the success which is
| bound to crown the efforts of able and hon
est men. At the outbreak of the war Col.
| Aliens was one of the most prominent to-
| bacco merchants of New York city. He
enlisted with the Thirty-frst New York
regiment, and the latter part of December
of 1864 found him at the head of the regi-
ment i'll Savannah.
| When Shermans army entered Savannah
| there were no provisions in the city, with
the single exception of 5000 terces of rice
| The people of the city held mass meeting,
with Dr. Arnold as chairman, at which a
resolution was adopted requesting Gen.
Sherman to permit them TO send the rice
| North and exchange it for provisions.
''This would have involved" said Col
| Aliens, in the course of a conversation with
Constitution representative, "a delay of
| fully three weeks Realizing this, | went
| to the citizens and offered them my services;
first STIMULATING that there should be no
| commissions, no brokerage, or anything of
J the sort. proposed to advance them $780,,
600 on the rice, thus enabling them to sup
ply their wants at once. They offered me
the bond of the city for the amount, This
refused, but they urged it upon me, and |
accepted it.
This was the last day of 1864. After
thinking over the matter | came to the con-
clusion that had a better plan, | went to
Gen. Sherman and proposed that he give me
commission and the necessary authority,
and would go North and would receive
donations for the sufferers in Savannah |
knew that my visit would be successful, and
the only thing stipulated was that the peo-
pie of Savannah should know nothing about
the object of my visit.
Il went, and was tho first man from Sher-
mans army to reach New Yo k. Ny arrival
created quite a sensation. | was given the
benefit of big headlines i'll all the papers.
Aliens from Sherman was the way | was
heralded. With a commission in behalf of
tings were held, and upon every occasion l
addressed the people, telling them of the
condition of affairs. In less than four days
S31 600 was raised. The government placed
at my disposal two steamers. In
week these were filled with provisions CON
tributed by the good people of New York,
Boston and Philadelphia, at all of which
placed | addressed large meetings. | never
had any thing affect mo as much as this
spontaneous uprising on the part of the citi-
zens of these Northern cities in behalf of
their Southern brethren. IL was spontane-
ous-from the heart When | told them of
the condition of the people in Savannah,
they asked no questions but gave, and gave
literally. Ispole in Philadelphia aud Bos
| ton and upon every occasion stated most
enphatically that the people had not sent
me to ask for provisions for them.
''The provisions were duly shipped-sl52,
600 worth-all purchased by me in open
market at the lowest possible price.
Let me relate right here an incident
which greatly impressed me: one that oc-
| CURED at Boston. / went to Boston at the
solicitation of Mr.. Edward Everett, one of
the best friends the South ever had.
reached there on Sunday evening, Jan. Z.
Mr.. Everett had been very sick, and the
doctor had sold that he must not leave his
house He had arranged meeting at
Faneuil for the next morning, and attend
| ne WOull ocopluc tIle IlTOUtSldIlOnS Oh pny-
sicians and friends. If you go, it will be at
the risk of your life, they said Il couldn't
risk it III better cause was his only reply
After the speaking, he excused himself
on account of his illness and went home
In three days afterward attended his fune-
raj, having been selected by his friends to
represent the city of Savannah
"On my way back to Savannah con-
tinued Col Aliens, II stopped in Washing
ton and called on President Lincoln He
complimeuted me kindly for my work, and
said: You fight with love and humanity as
| your weapons-the noblest possible fight
| Tell the people of Savannah that, while
armies often take to themselves powers
which do not belong to them, all will be
right in short time. In less than three
| months he was assassinated.
| when | reached Savannah found tnal
| the provisions had arrived but that the peo-
| pie did not have matters properly arranged
| for the distribution of them. A store with
| four entrances, in the center of the square,
was obtained as dispensing station, and |
| secured the services of officers of the army
Commissary Department to secure the
proper distribution. In short time every
| thing was properly organized and the peo-
pie had provisions in plenty
| wood was $50 cord, and the people
had no money with which TO purchase it.
We next turned our attention to the matter
VI ltACi anu Sdilhsscu supply
tee, consisting. as | remember it, of the
Mayor Of the city, DR.. Arnold, Mr.. Octavus
Cohen, Mr.. Villalonga, Mr.. Macdonald and
myself. We obtained passes for negroes
with axes, and guard and in one week
had 800 cords of wood in the city, giving il
20 all who were unable to purchase, and sell
ing it TO the others at 81 cord
After this work had heen accomplished
| resigned and went North, When / left
there was in the city % tons of coal, over
1000 cords of wood and considerable money
III the city treasury.
II have never been back there since |
had hoped to meet some Savannah people
in this convention, but | have been disap-
pointed In that | should like to meet some
of the men who were there at the time. y
| Col. Aliens was one of the striking figures
in the Farmers convention. He is a man of
decided ability and full of good common
sense which cropped out whenever he spoke
upon any subject. 1t is needless to add that
he made many friends among his fellow
| IL